Chapter 40
“Why don’t we start with a proper introduction? I’m Jaza Garlin. I’m from the state of Wyoming in the United States. I’m an enhancer human who will be in charge of you guys, the newbie enhancers, for a month. You can just call me Jaza!” the black young man shouted at the group that had been reduced by half. “We have 1,186 people this season, and 608 are enhancers. Wow! That’s over half the group.”
The newbies were divided based on their D Weapon categories. There were five classes for enhancers, conjurers, manipulators, transformers, and emitters.
Jaza continued, “Enhancement is the most common category, and what most people who arrive at the Mirror World are because enhancers have the biggest advantage for surviving in the Mirror World.”
Shin Jun and Ho-Geun entered the enhancement class. Ho-Geun was undoubtedly an enhancer because of his sledgehammer, but Jun’s category was ambiguous since his D Weapon was a manhole cover. He was added to the enhancement class because it was the closest category that his manhole cover could be in.
“Alright, let’s continue where we left off. Does anyone have any questions?” Jaza asked as he looked around.
Jun raised his hand and asked, “Jaza, you mentioned Coins can’t be converted to Karma, correct?”
“I did.”
“Then how about something like this? For example, I gave someone three hundred Coins to open an F-rank item cube for me. Skills and stats can’t be traded, but items can be, right?”
Jaza snapped his fingers and shouted, “Damn, you’re a clever student! An A+ for you!” He smiled and continued, “We call that unboxing. It refers to opening cubes for someone in exchange for Coins.”
“Oh! I didn’t think of that.”
“Come to think of it, we can trade items, can’t we?”
“Man... that means we can sell any good items we get from cubes for Coins!”
The other students nodded.
Jaza mentioned, “But as you all know, the untradeable Karma is worth more than the tradeable Coins. If you want to buy items or pay someone to unbox an item cube, you have to pay more Coins. It’s kind of like an opportunity cost.”
“That’s... true.”
“On top of that, Coins can only be given to others through common quests, but that process also costs Coins. It’s like a sales commission. It sucks, right?” Jaza laughed and continued, “But the biggest problem is that although there are countless items ranked F or E on the market, items ranked B or A are rare. You can’t buy them even if you have the Coins.”
“Why not?” a man asked.
Jaza answered as if it were obvious, “An A-rank item cube costs thirty million Karma to open. Not only are there just a few who could pay that much Karma, but the item they get has to be useless to them. On top of that, its cost will skyrocket if it’s auctioned. The average person can’t even hope to get one.”
The students’ expressions darkened.
Jaza smirked and continued, “Keke. Don’t be so disappointed. There’s another way to obtain high-ranking cubes than buying them with Karma.”
“T-there is?”
“How?”
The people’s sorrowful eyes were instantly filled with hope.
Jaza said, “Dungeons. You can obtain artifacts and high-ranking cubes as rewards for clearing dungeons. We call them dungeon cubes.” He shrugged and continued, “That’s why there is sometimes bloodshed between clans, or other races, for the dungeon rights. I’ve even heard about cubes being occasionally rewarded for clearing all of a quest chain, but I’ve never seen it myself.”
“W-what if you’re lucky and get an S-rank dungeon cube?!” a man asked, staring at Jaza hopefully.
Jaza laughed and answered, “Hah! Then you’re guaranteed to become a High Ranker.”
“Whoa!”
“It’s possible!”
Jaza faintly smiled as he watched the students fill with hope, keeping the truth to himself.
Although that will never happen, he thought.
***
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Marie, the one in charge of the transformers. I also teach the race theory class,” a Latina said as she stood in front of a blackboard, petting a Greyhound beside her.
“Is it true there are other races in this world?” Ha Rin, put in the transformation class, asked with her hand up.
Marie smiled and nodded. “Yup. There are dozens of known races.”
“Wow! I wanna meet them!” Rin shouted excitedly.
However, Marie shook her head and remarked, “The other races aren’t as amicable with humans as you think. You should set aside any fantasies you have about them.”
“Why?”
“Well... It’s simply a matter of power. Humans are an inferior race in the Mirror World.”
The transformation class students got upset.
“What do you mean, inferior?!”
“We’re all earning Karma and raising stats the same way! How are we inferior to the other races?”
Marie sighed and mumbled, “Haaa... dammit, Jaza. I thought he explained it, but just left it for me to handle. Do the other classes think the same way?”
Marie walked to the blackboard and drew three things with chalk. One was a normal human, another had the upper body of a human but a snake body from the torso down, and the last had horns and a tail.
“I drew three races in the Mirror World—a human, a naga, and a dragon.”
She then drew plates beside each of them. The plate next to the human was as small as a dipping dish for soy sauce, the one next to the naga was about the size of a rice bowl, and the one next to the dragon was as large as a bathroom sink.
Marie remarked, “Don’t be misled by the numbers you see on your Status Windows. They’re just numbers.”
“What do you mean?”
“We bought cubes with Karma to raise our stats! Are you saying the other races grow stronger in another way?”
“No, all races raise their stats the same way,” Marie replied.
“Then—”
Marie tapped the chalk on the tiny dish next to the human drawing and said, “Think of this plate as the power you obtain from raising a stat by one point. For humans, it’s this much.”
She then tapped the chalk on the plate next to the naga. “For nagas, it’s this much.”
Lastly, she tapped on the largest plate next to the dragon. “For dragons, it’s this much. Even if the number of stat points raised is the same between races, the caliber of stats is different. That’s why dragons are a superior race, nagas are an intermediate race, and humans are an inferior race.”
The students stared at Marie’s drawing in silence. If the power granted per one stat point differed between races, a human with F(99) stats was weaker than a naga with the same stats, and a dragon with F(99) stats was stronger than that naga.
Marie continued, “This is the innate difference between races. It’s the gap between the vessels we were born with. On top of that, most races have another stat called secondary force. Nagas have Mystic Force, dragons have Draconic Mana, and so on.”
“T-there’s no way! Then does that mean humans can never beat dragons, no matter how hard they try?!”
“What’s with the difference between races?!”
“This is just eugenics!”
People shouted, unable to accept the reality.
Marie smiled coldly and remarked, “Eugenics, my ass. We’re a different race entirely. How do you expect the same flower to bloom from different seeds?”
Everyone grew quiet. Hwa-Yeon, listening to Marie’s explanations beside Rin, recalled what the man named Remy Martin had said.
“I’m sure many of you have killed and betrayed in the Dark Forest. I’d bet you shudder at the sight of fellow humans now. However, you will understand the value of fellow humans soon enough.”
Was this what he meant? Since we’re in the same boat, do we have to depend on each other? Hwa-Yeon thought.
Marie smirked and said, “Cheer up. There’s indeed a gap between races, but it doesn’t mean humans can never defeat the intermediate or superior races.” She made the dish beside the human drawing larger and continued, “If your caliber is low, you just have to heighten it. Transcend the small vessel of the race Human.”
“Heighten... the caliber?”
“Transcend the race?”
The students thought about what Marie said, but couldn’t understand her.
Marie said, “There’s only one way to heighten caliber. Accomplish feats that will be acknowledged by and recorded into the Akasha.”
“What does that mean?” someone asked.
“To heighten the caliber of the Strength stat, you need to accomplish feats related to strength. For example, clearing a quest with only physical strength without relying on mana or skills.”
“That’s... impossible.”
Marie shook her head and asked, “Why is it impossible? We were born that way in the first place. The faster you abandon unproductive thoughts about unfairness, the better.” She patted the greyhound protecting her from beside and continued, “You should be grateful there is even a way to heighten our caliber. On top of that, we have D Weapons, which the other races don’t. Polish what you’ve been given.”
“Ummm... Is there any way to heighten our caliber other than accomplishing feats?” a man asked.
Marie shook her head and answered, “I would like to know that myself. If there is, I would become a Ranker in a heartbeat.”
***
“You’re there, aren’t you?” Seong-Hwi said, looking in a direction fifty meters away.
The silent Chaya Singh Rai appeared out of nowhere, and Seong-Hwi also appeared simultaneously.
[Canceling Concealing Cloak.]
“First, allow me to thank you. It appears you’ve done much for me while I was unconscious.”
Chaya nodded and replied, “I... simply repaid the favor.”
“That aside, why are you still here? What happened to the Teleport Rock I gave you? I thought you had already gone to the Mirror World.”
“I gave the Teleport Rock you gave me to my little sister three days ago.”
“Little sister? Was she Lost together with you?”
“Yes.”
Seong-Hwi nodded as he finally understood Chaya’s incomprehensible behavior.
So that’s why he was so desperate. The rule he established for his D Weapon wasn’t for attacking stealthily, but to hide someone. No wonder a classic warrior like him had an assassin’s unique skill.
“Then why didn’t you rummage through my pocket? If your sister is in the Mirror World, all the more reason you should follow her.”
Chaya’s expression crumpled. He said resolutely, “Even though I broke the rules of our previous battle... I did not want to trample on the favor I owe you.”
Seong-Hwi smirked, thinking, How innocent.
Survival was already difficult, even when one pursued only self-benefit. People who stayed true to their pride despite that were rare.
Seong-Hwi asked, “Do I look worthy enough for you to risk your life to protect?”
Chaya had been resolved for his death once he decided not to take the Teleport Rock from Seong-Hwi’s pocket. They were not comrades like the Calasanz clansmen Seong-Hwi was close to, so he couldn’t understand why Chaya had risked his life for him despite only having interacted for a few minutes.
Seong-Hwi was not a saint or a hero. Although everything he did was for the betterment of the human race, he was not tolerant enough to save everyone. Rather, he would eliminate anyone when necessary. Instead of a hero, he was more like a sociopath who claimed his actions were ultimately for the human race and to shine brightly, or even a madman who did whatever it took to right his past wrongs. He was full of contradictions—the epitome of a human.
Why would he lay down his life for someone like me? Seong-Hwi wondered.
“You are... a true warrior,” Chaya remarked after a long silence. “I... was overwhelmed by the monster’s energy and couldn’t move an inch. I could only... hide.”
Chaya had been watching the battle between Seong-Hwi and the Demon Knight.
He was going easy on me in our battle. This man is... a warrior among warriors!
Chaya was reminded of the Gurkha he looked up to when he was little. They were undefeated warriors who feared no man and always accomplished their missions. Seong-Hwi could have run away, but didn’t, risking his life to defeat his foe.
That’s why I’d like him to live. He is a great man, Chaya thought.
Seong-Hwi was left with mixed feelings as he felt Chaya’s shining gaze.
Is it... admiration? he wondered.
People felt the weirdest when they realized their actions could influence others, hence everyone tried to gain authority, be acknowledged for their accomplishments, and pursue love.
Chaya said, “I have a favor to ask you. Once you reach the Mirror World, please help my little sister. Her name is Shaya Singh Rai. She’s twelve.”
Seong-Hwi stared at Chaya in silence.
Chaya noticed his gaze and continued, “Of course, I’m not asking you to look after her forever. Just until she is independent. Since you’re far stronger than I am, I’m sure you are more than capable of—”
Seong-Hwi interjected, “You called yourself a Gurkha warrior, correct? From what I remember, the Gurkha are mercenaries.”
“Yes... and?”
“I will hire you. And pay you handsomely, of course.”
The dumbfounded Chaya asked, “What do you mean? Don’t you understand my situation? I don’t have a Teleport Rock—”
“Oh, this?”
Seong-Hwi reached into his pocket and pulled out two Teleport Rocks. Chaya was lost for words.
Two... Teleport Rocks?
Seong-Hwi threw one at Chaya, who caught it with a blank expression.
Seong-Hwi said, “I had three Teleport Rocks from the beginning. I don’t need payment for the first one I gave you. We can just call it even since you protected me. As for the second, let’s call it an advance payment for hiring you. Is it not enough?”
“I-i-is this... really happening?” Chaya wondered, his hands shaking.
Everything he had given up on, including seeing his little sister again, flashed before his eyes.
Seong-Hwi continued, “If you have something to protect, protect it yourself—especially your family. You should never abandon family.” His expression grew somber as he recalled the snowy winter. He continued, “If you are a true Gurkha warrior, protect the things you find precious yourself. That is what a mercenary does.”
“Kurgh!” Chaya gritted his teeth and kneeled as tears welled around his eyes. “From now on... You have hired my life. The Gurkha mercenary Chaya Singh Rai has accepted your advance payment. I swear on this kukri that I will become the sharp blade that will kill your enemies.”
Chaya’s eyes, which had been filled with resignation about life until now, sparked with life.
Seong-Hwi smiled and said, “I don’t need your life, but I will borrow your strength. I have many enemies to kill and just as many people to save.”